Voices 07

Giving young people a voice

Using drama, music and comedy, Voices is a unique partnership initiative presented by Camberley Theatre and sponsored by The Mall Camberley and local businesses. It has two elements - a youth theatre festival and a schools outreach workshop. The schools outreach element, which in 2007 was entitled 'No need to be scared', was funded by the Safer Surrey Heath Partnership and worked more specifically on the theme of fear of crime.

During July 2007, some 200 Year 6 and 7 pupils from Kings International College, Ravenscote Junior School, Hammond Junior School and Watchetts Junior School took part in workshops held at their schools. These saw professional actors Ed Taylor and Alix Cazalet using a mixture of interactive techniques to get students thinking about crime, how they feel about crime and people's perception of young people.

What youngsters think about Voices

Feedback from pupils who took part in Voices 07 was overwhelmingly positive. Here are some quotes from the feedback forms:

What did you learn from the workshop?

• "To be more aware of my actions around other people"
• "How our behaviour can affect other people"
• "Don't judge a book by its cover"
• "That newspaper headlines can make you feel scared when you don't need to be"
• "Don't believe everything in the newspapers"
• "That people can find you intimidating when you don't mean to be"

Why do you think it is important to be a responsible citizen?

• "So that others will not fear you"
• "So you don't get hurt or in trouble"
• "So you will make friends not enemies"
• "I think because you will be rewarded"
• "If you are responsible everyone will like you but if you aren't, then nobody will like you"
  

Teachers' comments

What is your overall assessment of the workshop?

• "Good for this age group as they are going up to secondary school"
• "Excellent - very relevant"
• "Good. Children got into the spirit of it, listened well and took on board the rationale"
• "Facilitators created a safe atmosphere for children to express their thoughts"

Sean Ruth, Safer Surrey Heath Partnership Chairman at the time, said: "The aim of the Voices project is to encourage young people to think about crime and anti-social behaviour in a wider context. It also promotes the importance of personal responsibility and citizenship, and ways in which youngsters can modify their behaviour to alleviate fear of crime in their neighbourhood. For these reasons, the Safer Surrey Heath Partnership is pleased to support the Voices team."

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